


Burning at Both Ends

by ShadowloverChi



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Angst and Feels, F/M, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Slow Burn, Tragic Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:41:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26290540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowloverChi/pseuds/ShadowloverChi
Summary: What happens when the Warrior of Light looses her reason to keep living?Who can save the Hero from herself?
Relationships: Haurchefant Greystone/Original Character(s), Zenos yae Galvus/Original Character(s)
Kudos: 5





	Burning at Both Ends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens when the Warrior of Light looses her reason to keep living?
> 
> Who can save the Hero from herself?

The most deafening sound is the silence that comes after battle.

It seeps into your soul and leaves a mark as deep as the blade which bit into your skin. Not even the continuous rumble of thunder, the soft whisper of wind, or the harsh metallic ping of a broken sword hitting the ground can fill that void. Why is it everything seems more noticeable in those moments?

The smell of smoke burns down the throats of those who linger, the bright sparks of embers lighting up the dark interior of Rhalgr’s Reach, the voice...the voice of the man who felled her.

_“Pathetic”_

Pathetic? Perhaps.

As Aerine Rivers, Warrior of Light, struggles to her feet she can hear the heavy footfalls of her enemy walking away, as well as the approaching ones of an ally rushing to give aid. Irritably she held out a hand to stop whoever was coming to help, spatting blood on the ground once regaining some sort of steadiness on her feet.

 _“Then why spare me? Finish it!”_ she calls out helplessly, her voice raspy and breathless in the wake of the first battle she has ever lost.

She gets no answer. The garlean man clad in red armor and a bone-white helm simply stops in his path and turns his head slightly, signaling he heard her at least. Struggling forward a step she calls out again, _“Give me your name at least! Who are you to just leave the Warrior of Light like this?”_

Warrior of Light. Of course. She didn’t have a name anymore.

_“Zenos yae Galvus. Hear me, Hero. Endure. Live.”_

Her confusion only mounted seven-fold at his revelation. The Prince of Garlemald? A man better known for hunting everything in his path as mere beasts to grant her mercy? It was an insult.

 _“Seven hells...are you alright lass?”_ A gentle white light surrounds the fallen hero as a nearby conjurer kneels at her side to tend to her wounds with Raubahn on his heels, the latter of which was asking as to her well-being. _“Tis no ordinary foe that could best the likes of you.”_ He continues.

 _“Obviously,”_ the elezen spats, shrugging off the ministrations and lurching to her feet. She wasn’t grievously injured, which only added more insult to the injury of her pride, unlike Y’shtola who was cut down shortly before Aerine had gotten there. Her eyes brushed over her fallen companions, the lingering fires at the feet of Rhalgr, and finally towards the exit into the Peaks where she had last seen Galvus. The smell of death had already begun cutting through the scorched air, causing the woman to bury her nose into her elbow. Oh how she wanted to chase him down, force him into giving her the death she craved, but with her ‘friend’s’ at her heels and her fellow scion laying near to death’s door she couldn’t. She didn’t want to abandon them.

The way He had abandoned her. Gods damn that elezen…

_Oh don’t look at me so…_

Shaking her head against unwanted memories she once again pushes aside her emotions to tend to those who need her more...  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
Unfortunately there would be more than enough time to brood on her thoughts not too long after. After speaking with the rest of the resistance leaders following the devastation of Rhalgr’s Reach it was agreed that they could not hope to stand against the Viceroy, Zenos yae Galvus, let alone the rest of the empire without allies. To that end it was suggested that the Scion’s seek out their friends from Doma, who had left shortly before the Ala Mhigan resistance really took root, and garner their aid. That also meant a long and boring ride across the world to the Far East, and far too much time to think...  
  
\-- _Aerine could smell the fireplace, the leather of the seat she sat on, the soft musk from the bearskin rug, and the sweet scent of chocolate that seemed the strongest of all as it wafted from the cup in her hands. She curled into his chest, soft sighs of happiness escaping her lips as he rubbed his hand up and down his arm idly while he read from his book and drank his own cup of hot chocolate._ _  
__  
__“See? I told you that relaxing is a good thing.” he teased her gently, laying a soft kiss on top of her head with a chuckle._ _  
__  
__“Only with you. If it weren’t for this damnable hot chocolate I’d be helping the other’s spread word about what I saw with the Echo.” she takes a sip, reveling in the feel of the warm drink sinking down her throat and spreading warmth through her being. Though Ishgardian herself the cold still wasn’t something she enjoyed overlong, and this drink was perfect to combat it, especially when made by him._ _  
__  
__“Ishgard shall see plenty of unrest on the morrow I am sure. Take advantage of these moment’s of rest as you will not have them soon I’d wager.”_ _  
__  
__“Aymeric should not have gone alone. The Holy See will not surrender its power simply by the word of an outsider and a heretic. Lucia is beside herself with worry over him.”_ _  
__  
__“And he has you to rescue him. Fret not my dearest,” to quell any further argument from her he set down his cup on the end table and tugged up her chin to face him. Sapphire blue eyes met her ruby ones, their color seeming all the brighter by his messy mop of sky blue hair. She wondered if he got the unusual color from his mother, whom neither he nor Lord Fortemp would speak of freely. She made it a point to remember asking him when this was all over.--_ _  
__  
_ She never did and now it was too late.  
  
Feeling her lips tremble as the memories continued to come unbidden, bombarding her with emotions she tried so hard to keep buried, she covered her mouth with her hand to stifle the sob.   
  
Unseen by her, the young white-haired sharlayan Alisae turned in her cot beside the elezen Warrior of Light to watch with concern. There was nothing she could ever say to console the woman, despite how she had tried, in losing her grandfather she understood but a fraction of Aerine’s pain upon losing what seemed to be the love of her life. Since Haurchefant’s death Alisae has seen a dark cloud envelop her hero and begin changing her. No longer did she seem to enjoy her service to others, instead she distanced herself from the rest of the scions and simply did what was asked of her. She just...smiled and nodded, but the smile never reached her eyes like it used to. The Warrior of Light’s actions continued to become more reckless of her own well-being, as evidenced by her struggle against Zenos yae Galvus that day in Rhalgr’s Reach, and Alisae didn’t know what scared her more; the fact Zenos was powerful enough to bring low one of the greatest warriors of the Era, or that it seemed Aerine had wanted him to. She wondered if the woman agreed to come to Doma for a far darker reason. And she would be right.


End file.
